Jason Hammel – $8.25 million – $5.7 million ($4.75 million in 2012)
Jim Johnson – $7.1 million – $5.7 million ($2.775 million in 2012)
Darren O’Day – $3.2 million – $1.8 million ($1.35 million in 2012)

Boston

Craig Breslow – $2.375 million – $2.325 million ($1.795 million in 2012)

James McDonald – $3.4 million – $2.65 million ($502,500 in 2012)
Neil Walker – $3.6 million – $3 million ($500,000 in 2012)

St. Louis

David Freese – $3.75 million – $2.4 million ($518,000 in 2012)
Jason Motte – $5.5 million – $4.5 million ($2 million in 2012)
Marc Rzepczynski – $1.3 million – $900,000 ($501,000 in 2012)

San Diego

Luke Gregerson – $3.75 million – $2.875 million ($1.55 million in 2012)
Chase Headley – $10.3 million – $7.075 million ($3.475 million in 2012)
Clayton Richard – $5.5 million – $4.905 million ($2.705 million in 2012)

– It’s incredibly bizarre that the Red Sox came to terms with seven of their eight remaining arbitration players today, yet couldn’t close the ridiculously tiny $50,000 gap with Breslow. Maybe they just ran out of people capable of negotiating; they were all on the phone with other players.

– Prado’s gap is also really small considering the amounts involved ($7.05 million-$6.65 million). It’s hard to see that one going before a panel.

– Headley’s $3.225 million gap with the Padres is the biggest spread in dollars, but others are bigger proportionately. O’Day is asking for nearly twice what the Orioles are offering ($3.2 million-$1.8 million. Romo’s request is 70 percent higher than the Giants’ offer. Freese’s is nearly 60 percent higher than the Cardinals’ proposal.

The Cardinals have always emphasized building from within. In the 2016-17 offseason, however, they may end up being one of the bigger free agent buyers. At least according to some informed speculation.

The Cardinals are already losing their first round pick due to the Fowler signing, so any other top free agent won’t cost them more than the money he’s owed. And as far as money goes, the Cardinals have a great deal of it, despite being a small market team. They have a billion dollar TV deal coming online and Matt Holliday and Jaime Garcia are off the payroll now. Spending big on a free agent or three would not cripple them or anything.

Encarnacion or Trumbo would be first baseman, which wold fly in the face of the Cards’ move of Matt Carpenter to first base (and, at least as far as Encarnacion goes, would fly in the face of good defense). Getting either of them would push Carpenter back to second, displacing Kolten Wong, or over to third, displacing Jhonny Peralta. If you’re going to do that, I’d say that Turner would make more sense, but what do I know?

Either way, the Cardinals may be entering a pretty interesting phase of their offseason now. And an unfamiliar one as, quite possibly, the top free agent buyer on the market.

There is literally nothing you could tell me that the incoming administration is considering which would shock me anymore. As such, I saw this story when I woke up this morning, blinked once, took a sip of coffee, closed the browser window and just went on with my morning, as desensitized as a wisdom tooth about to be yanked.

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that Former Red Sox, Mets and Rangers manager Bobby Valentine is on a short-list of candidates for the job of United States Ambassador to Japan:

The 66-year-old, who currently serves as Sacred Heart University’s athletics director, has engaged in preliminary discussions with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team regarding the position.

Valentine managed the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League for six seasons, leading the team to a championship in 2005. He also knows the current prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, as both went to USC. Assuming championship teams meet the country’s leader in Japan like they do in the United States, Valentine has at least twice the amount of experience with top political leaders than does, say, Ned Yost, so that’s something.

The former manager, more importantly, is friends with Donald Trump’s brother, with the two of them going way back. Which, given how this transition is going, seems like a far more important set of qualifications than anything else on this list.